STATESBORO, Ga. (4/19/25) – Arkansas State baseball (18-21, 8-10 SBC) jumped out to an early lead, but four home runs for Georgia Southern (23-17, 9-9 SBC) proved too much in a 7-4 defeat on Saturday afternoon at J.I. Clements Stadium.
 
Jack Hibbard (5-3) made his 10th start of the season, surrendering six runs (all earned) on six hits and two walks while striking out three over 3.1 innings pitched. Three Red Wolves entered in relief, limiting Georgia Southern to two hits and one unearned run over the final 4.2 innings of action.
 
At the plate, Wil French (2-for-4) led the bats with two hits and crossed the plate twice while Cason Tollett tallied a team-leading two RBIs. The Scarlet and Black finished with seven hits and drew seven walks in the contest.
 
A-State did not record a hit in the opening frame, but scored two on a throwing error and sacrifice fly to claim the early lead. The Eagles knocked on the door in the next frame, but a called strike three from Hibbard prevented a bases-loaded walk and kept the score at 2-0.
 
Georgia Southern struck with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the second to cut the lead in half, but the Red Wolves responded in the next frame. Tollett extended the lead back to two with an RBI-single through the left side before Cross Jumper scored on a bases-loaded walk, making the score 4-1.
 
With two outs in the bottom of the third, Georgia Southern launched a two-run homer inside the left-field foul pole to make the score 4-3. The Eagles added two more homers to score three in the fourth, taking a two-run lead.
 
One more run would score for Georgia Southern in the eighth, while the Red Wolves were unable to rally as the series came to a close. Carter DeGondea (3-0) earned the win and Davis Smith claimed the save while Hibbard took the loss.
 
NEXT UP
A-State travels to Memphis for a midweek clash on Tuesday, April 22, at 6:05 p.m. inside FedEx Park. Listeners can find the series opener on 95.3 The Ticket, with coverage beginning 15 minutes prior to first pitch.

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